In the News: My Nephews

First moments in the spotlight for the fingerpaint set
by Emily Johns, Star Tribune

Micah M. has blue marker all over his face.

Micah's last name is Maeda but he doesn't know how to spell it so he says just to call him Micah M.

That blue stuff could almost -- almost -- be stage makeup, because Micah is a budding actor. But it's not.

Micah -- who says he's 5½ -- is blue speckled because his brother, Caleb, spritzed him with a marker.

"I didn't know these could actually squirt," Micah says, holding up a green marker.

Micah, Caleb, and 11 other children ages 3 to 5 were part of a community education class for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district.

The class -- "Lights! Camera! Action!" -- teaches kids how to put on their own play.

The marker debacle happened during set design.

"The Fuzzy Caterpillar" is the week's drama. It's about a caterpillar who wants to have beautiful colors like other animals. The animals tell him, "maybe someday you will," and at the end of the play, the caterpillar emerges from his cocoon as a butterfly.

Vince Evans is dressed like a black cat. His dad, John, says Vince wore the costume for Halloween two years ago. That's why it's a little small -- the legs end right below his kneecaps.

Vince has a soft spot for the family cat, Harley.

"He's at an age right now where he really likes getting into role playing," said John Evans. "We figured the class would be fun for him. He really likes practicing his line at home."

The class meets on the stage at Falcon Ridge Middle School in Apple Valley. The stage is only two feet off the ground, though,, so cast members tend to wander away when they're bored.
Class instructor Jia Brown tells the students to pick a spot where they all want to stand for the play. Thirteen hams rush to the front of the stage, pushing each other out of the way till toes teeter over the edge.

"I see we all love the limelight here," Brown says, laughing.

Brown has taught the community education class for about two years, and she said the district does one or two a month for the students.

Five-year-old Abbey Stensrud pulls a pink and green silk flower from the hand of one of the instructors, then runs to the paper plate she's drawing on for the set. Abbey is going to be a unicorn in the play, with a white body, brown feet and a blue horn.

She holds up the plate and a pink marker and points to the flower.

"I'm coloring it like this," she said.

Before the class is over, Brown takes the kids through one more run through of "The Fuzzy Caterpillar." When the butterfly emerges from its cocoon, Brown urges the kids to stand up. They all start to flap their wings, pretending to fly away.

Four-year-old Maddie Haugen roams the stage, her nose dotted with red and orange marker.

"I think the markers smell nice," she said.